2 charged with murder of New Bedford man killed in crossfire

Two men who allegedly shot at each other in a South End gun battle last month are facing murder charges because a bystander was fatally wounded in the crossfire.

BRIAN FRAGA

NEW BEDFORD — Two men who allegedly shot at each other in a South End gun battle last month are facing murder charges because a bystander was fatally wounded in the crossfire.

Prosecutors said a 2001 Massachusetts Appeals Court ruling allows them to charge Jason Denison, 20, and Jonathan Flores, 20, both of New Bedford, with murder under a joint venture theory.

On Dec. 2, around 12:30 a.m., authorities said, Denison chased after Flores and another man and shot at them after an altercation that began as a prearranged fistfight between two women at the corner of Dartmouth and Matthew streets.

Pina, 20, of New Bedford, was shot in the head and died four days later at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Flores was at large until Thursday evening when he turned himself in to New Bedford police. Denison has been in custody, held on $50,000 cash bail since authorities charged him last month with obstruction of justice for allegedly misleading police investigating the homicide.

Flores, on probation for assault with a dangerous weapon, was to be arraigned today in New Bedford District Court.

Hours before Flores turned himself in, Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter, speaking at a press conference attended by prosecutors and police officials, asked for the public's help in locating the suspect.

Sutter said the state appeals court, in its 2001 ruling in Commonwealth vs. Santiago, affirmed a murder conviction in a similar case. That ruling, Sutter said, makes it "clear that (Denison and Flores) can and should be charged with murder."

The Massachusetts Appeals Court said a defendant who engages in a gun battle with the intent to murder or wound someone and a bystander is killed can be held liable for homicide even if the defendant's opponent fired the fatal shot.

The court said: "By choosing to engage in a shootout, a defendant may be the cause of a shooting by either side because the death of a bystander is a natural result of a shootout, and the shootout could not occur without participation from both sides."

"We are taking the same aggressive approach with this case that we have with all cases involving illegal firearms and gun violence over the past five years," Sutter said.

The decision to charge Denison and Flores with murder "may be on solid legal ground but I question the validity of it," said Brockton defense lawyer Kevin Reddington, who believes the district attorney's case against both defendants is not that clear cut.

"If one guy shoots at another and the other guy shoots back in self defense and kills a guy, that would be manslaughter. But if you a miss guy and hit a bystander, then that's murder? I have a problem with that," Reddington said.

Denison told police he was not present during the altercation, but prosecutors said witnesses, as well as audio and video evidence, placed him at the scene and indicate he escalated the situation by brandishing a gun.

Just before 12:30 a.m. Dec. 2, a woman arrived with Flores and other people to fight Denison's girlfriend outside 363 Dartmouth St., a triple-decker. Sutter declined to say what the fight was about.

As a crowd gathered on the street, Denison and Pina allegedly emerged from the tenement's first-floor apartment. Police said Denison was armed with a 9-mm handgun.

People at the scene were heard yelling at Denison: "Jason, Jason, you're crazy. Don't do this," according to court documents.

Police later recovered a .22-caliber revolver Flores had allegedly discarded in a backyard on Matthew Street. Investigators did not find the 9-mm firearm that Denison allegedly fired.

In addition to murder, Denison is charged with armed assault with intent to murder, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and obstruction of justice. He will be arraigned on the murder charge at a later date.

Flores is facing charges that include murder, possession of a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a firearm without an FID card. His last listed address was 203 Division St.